Trial Balloon: August 12, 2009 Archive

Radio Heartland has 3 pairs of tickets to give away to Dar Williams and Haley Bonar in concert at the Minnesota Zoo on Friday, August 21st.
Use the online form to enter by 1pm tomorrow. Obey the rules. Have fun.

A note in yesterday's blog from Aaron recommended that we get Bud Buck on the job to cover some of the hurly-burly of home district meetings being held by congressmen on the topic of health care. We aim to please, so we assigned him to cover Congressman Beechly's meeting yesterday.
Here's Bud's report:

I didn't see the Congressman at his "Towne Hall Forum", but I did ask people why they were there, and I got some interesting answers.

The reason was either "Health Care Reform", "The Creeping Socialist Takeover" or "The Secret Government Plan to Harvest Grandma's Vital Organs While She Is Still Living".
Very confusing.

Instead of any official-looking people, I saw a group of sweaty red-faced shouters bellowing at a cluster of tight-jawed brow furrowers. Meanwhile, a frantic crowd of TV people elbowed each other for a good angle on the venom and spittle that was flying back and forth across the room.

I had to concentrate to keep my mind focused on my assignment, which was to "observe the event and reach some conclusions about what is needed for good health care".

I'm not a doctor, but here's what I am prepared to say, based on what I saw. These people are really going to need some good coverage.

Bellowing at the top of your lungs for 30 minutes straight places a strain not only on the vocal cords, but the lungs and the heart and the whole circulatory system. If there's a weak spot in one of the major vessels, a person could have an aneurism or a stroke right in the middle of chanting "Read The Bill," "Read the Bill"! I saw one protester slumped over in the corner gasping for breath after a mere 90 seconds of screaming that Obama is Hitler.

Also, clenching your teeth and trying to hold back intense emotions brought on by being shouted at is very damaging for the jaw, the molars and the soft palate, especially when you have stringy, underdeveloped neck and shoulder muscles. I noticed several of these suffering people looking ashen and totally depleted, not from over - exertion but from a prolonged and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to be more like Gandhi.

In the press pool, I noticed some reporters were nursing sharp elbow injuries in the rib cage and facial areas and there were a few camera operators with rather severe cases of faces permanently frozen from Repetitive Viewfinder Squint Syndrome.

Regardless of what this meeting was about, the short and long term health effect on the people in attendance was all negative, in my opinion. Their voluntary participation in such a stressful, high-risk event made them candidates to have their coverage dropped by insurers who are simply trying to limit their exposure to such reckless group behavior.

But when I tried to ask a few of the attendees if their policies would cover any potential Towne Hall Health Care Forum related injuries, I either got the cold shoulder or was shouted down.

It made me nervous to see so many people courting physical pain and financial ruin, so I got out of there as quickly as possible.

And where was Congressman Beechly? At home, relaxing, I'm told. Staying hydrated. Getting his rest. Taking the best possible advantage of his already excellent health care coverage.

This is Bud Buck!

Do you think calm, relaxed people inherently healthier than those whose passion rises quickly? Really? Wanna fight about it?